Paramotors, also known as powered paragliders, combine a traditional paraglider wing or ram-air canopy with a motorized frame. The paraglider wing (more particularly, risers of the paraglider wing), are attached to the frame using one of a variety of suspension systems such as fixed or pivoting underarm bar systems, no bar systems, sliding web underarm bar systems, and fixed, floating, or pivoting J-bar systems. One such suspension system includes a pair of swing arms pivotably coupled to the frame, and the risers of the paraglider wing attach directly to the swing arms via one or more attachment points provided along the pair of swing arms. The frame in turn includes a pilot harness, a motor, a propeller, and a hoop or cage surrounding the propeller. The articulating swing arm attachment system can pivot/articulate in a vertical plane to compensate for the torque placed on the frame by the pilot initiating a turn by either shifting his or her weight or using the turning system built into the canopy/paraglider. Additionally, the attachment system allows the paraglider wing to move independently of the frame and the pilot strapped thereto during flight. This system helps compensate for in-flight turbulence and torque translated to the pilot/frame for the production of thrust from the motor/propeller.
Current swing arms provide limited flexibility, however, because they at most only pivot in one direction (i.e., the vertical plane), and thus do not allow for movement in all axes as the pilot turns the paramotor or as the system reacts to weight shifts of the pilot or torque placed on the system by the motor/propeller. This restricted movement of the swing arms thus limit a pilot's experience and control of the paramotor system and fails to replicate the natural flight of an unpowered paraglider.
Moreover, these swing arms are often mounted at a fixed lateral position with respect to the frame and set at a predetermined width. As a result, current swing arms are unable to accommodate motors of different power ranges or configurations and different-sized pilots, and provide no adjustability to accommodate for a pilot's experience or external flying conditions.
There thus remains a need for a swing arm system that allows the swing arm to rotate and articulate along all axes during flight, and which allows the swing arms to be adjustably mounted in order to accommodate various pilot sizes, engines of different power ranges or configurations, pilot abilities, and external flying conditions.
Furthermore, while current hoop designs are intended to protect a pilot and the paraglider wing from the spinning propeller during use, the hoops are of limited durability and rigidity because they are typically constructed of lightweight material in an effort to reduce overall weight of the paramotor system. These hoops thus do not provide adequate protection to the pilot and paraglider wing, and also may be prone to failure during takeoffs and landings.
There thus remains a need for a hoop or cage that is rigid enough to provide adequate protection for the pilot and paraglider wing from the propeller during flight, power-assisted launches, and hard landings, but which is light enough such that it does not hinder operation of the paramotor.